NOM 151 is the norm that guarantees that documents with electronic signature cannot be altered, are validated by law and are reliable for use in any transaction. Learn a little more about it!

For many years the business world has worked in a really incredible way; executives rushing to the appointment at a restaurant on the other side of the world, exhausted managers in the waiting rooms of international airports or politicians attending important meetings to strengthen business relations with other countries. And although traveling around the world is wonderful, there are trips to trips, that’s why someone made the distinction between those who are for pleasure and those who are business, where sometimes it is just about signing a document, buying a souvenir and go back to our office to continue the work.

Fortunately, the introduction of new technologies has transformed the way of doing business. However, these great changes are accompanied by new regulations that guarantee that all the provisions of the law are complied with. Such is the case of NOM 151, which serves to identify the elements that an electronic signature or a digital document must have in order to be legally valid.

Why does the norm arise?

Due to the need to regulate the process to digitize the documents of thousands of Mexican companies, such as their accounting or those related to their commercial activity, NOM 151. appears in 2002. Derived from its update in 2017, now the standard also includes regulation of digital signatures with the issuance of conservation certificates, but let’s go by parts:.

If there is a contract, there is a signature. What is there to know about the electronic signature?

The signing of documents physically and in person is still the most frequent when making written agreements. However, currently technology allows us to carry out this procedure digitally, by capturing the autograph signature of a person using an electronic device and using it as valid, as long as it is accepted by the parties involved.

However, when we talk about digital documents that are agreed remotely in which there must be a signature with legal validity, these require an electronic signature to validate the identity of the signer, which is issued by a certifying authority such as the SAT and the Certification Service Providers who have acquired this power.

A Certification Service Provider is a third party accredited by the Ministry of Economy, whose main task will be to grant security, validity and legal certainty to acts carried out through electronic means.

NOM 151 stipulates that the electronic signature is one of the fundamental requirements to issue a certificate of data retention.

When a document is signed with the electronic signature, it is accompanied by a digital certificate; through which the Certification Services Provider guarantees the identity of the signatory and that the requirements set forth in the Electronic Signature Law are met. Without the fulfillment of these requirements, a Certification Service Provider cannot issue the data retention certificate, making it impossible to give it legal validity.

What is the data retention certificate?

A data retention certificate (known as NOM 151 certificates) is a digital document that guarantees that the electronic information of a contract, for example, was produced in a certain time and with specific characteristics. 

Through security measures such as a time stamp or electronic signature, its integrity, authenticity and inalterability are guaranteed, which gives it legal validity. 

The certificates are also issued by a Certification Services Provider accredited by the Ministry of Economy.

What benefits are obtained with NOM 151?

• It makes it possible to sign documents remotely
• Save time and costs
• Validate the identity of a remote signer
• It gives legal validity to a document with an electronic signature
• A certificate can be presented as evidence in a legal dispute
• Guarantees the integrity, authenticity and inalterability of a digital document
• It allows to digitize physical documents requested by the commercial code
• Eliminates the use of paper

Tu Identidad is a Mexican company expert in technology with a legal team specialized in handling these types of solutions. 

Comply with the regulation and implement some of our modules such as the digital signature that can integrate the autograph or electronic signature and get the conservation records you need.

If you want to be part of the digital transformation and give more security to your company, contact us, we will be happy to offer you this and other solutions.